Boxscore

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Visiting East Stroudsburg University took the lead with five-plus minutes left to play in the first half of action Saturday afternoon and never trailed thereafter en route to a 64-55 win over Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference men's basketball “crossover” action in Morrow Field House.

The loss snapped a modest two-game win streak for SRU, which saw its season records fall to 3-2 overall and 1-2 against conference opponents.

East Stroudsburg won for the fifth time in its last six games and improved its season records to 5-3 overall, 2-1 in conference action.

Neither team shot the ball particularly well as ESU finished the game with a 34% (23-67) efficiency from the field and SRU shot 36% (21-59) from the floor.

ESU nailed seven of 14 shots from beyond 3-point range, while The Rock hit four of 16 long-range shots.

The winners canned 11 of 14 (79%) free throws, compared to a 9-of-13 (69%) showing by The Rock, who held a slim 44-43 rebounding advantage but had almost twice as many turnovers (19-10).

Senior forward Devin Taylor (pictured) recorded his third “double-double” of the season with 13 points and 14 rebounds to lead the losing effort. Junior guard Aubin Reeves and junior center Luiz Santos each added 10 points for The Rock and grabbed six and five rebounds, respectively.

Junior guard John Bayardelle handed out a game-high six assists for SRU and sophomore forward Tabari Perry grabbed five rebounds.

Whis Grant scored a team-high 13 points led a group of four East Stroudsburg players who finished the game with 10 or more points. Duane Johnson (7 rebounds) and Russell Graham III each added 12 points, Terrance King chipped in 11 points and eight rebounds and Gerald Bridges Jr. had nine points and a team-high 11 rebounds.

The score was tied on three occasions and the lead changed hands three times in the first six and a half minutes of action before The Rock went on an 11-4 run to take an 18-11 lead with 8:30 left before halftime.

East Stroudsburg answered The Rock run with a 16-4 scoring spurt in the next five minutes to take a 27-22 lead with four minutes left before the intermission.

The Rock trimmed the margin to two points, 29-27, with 2:20 left in the half but never completely erased the deficit.

The Warriors took a seven-point, 34-27, lead into the intermission and expanded it to take the first of their two double-digit leads of the game, a 44-33 advantage with 15 minutes left in the game.

SRU made its final run midway through the final 20 minutes and trimmed the margin to only two points, 50-48, with seven minutes left to play but were never able to pull even.

The Rock will look to regain their winning ways and even their conference record at 2-2 when they host Kutztown in a 3 p.m. game Sunday in Morrow Field House. That will close out a three-game homestand for the Green and White, who travel to Bloomsburg and Mansfield for crossover games next weekend.